Murray Gadd

During Term 2 I was lucky enough to attend a Murray Gadd workshop in Wellington. Here are a few ideas that I took away from the day!

- The content is aways the most important thing not full stops, spelling and surface features.

- Your writing should always have a purpose.

- Kids need scaffolding from the teacher. Help them see their next learning steps.

- Verbs make the writing come alive not adjectives.

- You always need good teaching behind the writing - going outside and observing, reading books and pointing out language features, examples around the room etc...

- All writers need to be well planned, there a various ways to do it. Don’t make kids plan in a prescribed way. Give them options.

- A writer always needs to be aware of his audience - Who is your audience? Who is the reader?

- Try and create the story orally first.

- For spelling there are knowing words, looking words and hearing words.

- Recrafting - 3 things a writer has to do when making changes. 

1. Meaning clear for the reader?

1. Impact for the reader

1. Surface features are courtesies for the reader.

- Task comes first - learning goal second, what are we going to have to learn to complete the task?

- Group for writing not writing groups. Form groups on needs.

- Writing idea using the book Click, Clack Moo, making a demand, consequences if not met, write a letter to farmer brown pretending to be an animal with a demand.

- Writing idea: Book: Uncle Glen and me-  character descriptions.

- PURPOSE -  inform, persuade, entertain

- One day of free writing is ok. The best writing topics come from personal things.

- The writing process: Plan, Craft, Recraft, Proof read and Present.

- Cool website: How to be an explorer of the world website Keri Smith.

- Day one have a whole class writing topic. Motivate them and then follow the writing process. Lots of oral talking first and lots of sharing and feedback.

Murray taught a fantastic lesson modelling all of the above! 




I have been incorporating these ideas into my class. Topic first, different plans, recrafting, using lots of books, lots of oral language and lots of feedback and sharing on the mat.

Below is a picture of a lesson I taught based on Murray Gadd's ideas. The topic was an important first and I thought the lesson went really well!